I fell in love on holiday and moved from Scotland to Turkey to be with him

Karina Karatarla, 35, met her husband Yunus, 38, in a bar on holiday in Turkey. They fell in love and she ended up swapping her life in Scotland for year-round sunshine and beautiful beaches.

Growing up near Manchester, we would take regular family holidays to Turkey. But little did I know that one day, I’d be living there in a beautiful resort with my Turkish husband, spending days on the beach with our son watching the most stunning sunsets I’ve ever seen.

I met Yunus in 2019. I have a friend who lives in a village outside Marmaris in Turkey and went over to visit her twice a year. We’d regularly go to the same bar and sit on the beach, but on this occasion, it was raining so we went inside to sit by the bar – and that’s when I saw my now husband for the first time.

I'd recently come out of a relationship and my friend was encouraging me to meet someone else, so I told her I thought the barman was quite attractive. His friends heard me and said, "Yunus, she wants your number." I could have died! We met for a drink later that night and he told me he’d seen me many times there over the years, but I’d never clapped eyes on him before.

Overcoming the language barrier

We had 10 lovely days together. His boss would let him off early so we would go to the beach late at night, and have the mornings together. I didn’t really think of it as a typical holiday romance – my friend had been living there for seven years and met her husband, and I spent so much time in Turkey that I always thought there was a possibility of meeting someone.

Our friends would say we had our own special language. I have basic Turkish while his English is better, but I could fill in the gaps of what he was trying to say.

There were a couple of times when the language barrier became an issue. One night I was in the apartment waiting for him to finish work so I messaged and said, "I'll come to the restaurant" and he replied saying, "Don't come here." I thought he must have another girl there and was absolutely raging – until he turned up at the apartment to surprise me with a bottle of wine.

Falling in love

At the end of the 10 days, I had to fly home to my job as manager of a respite care facility in Scotland. We sat down and talked about whether we wanted to do this properly and decided to give it a go. I flew back to see him in January 2020 and we spent the whole week together, going on boat trips and out to restaurants every night, listening to live music.

At the end of the trip, he gave me a 22-carat gold ring – at first, I thought he was proposing, until he said it was a promise ring, as a sign of his commitment to our relationship.

It was really hard to say goodbye and then, of course, Covid hit in March. Strangely, though, that was when we really got to know each other well over video calls. In a long-distance relationship, you have to always find things to talk about. It's not like when you come home to someone you live with and just drift along.

The proposal

By August, restrictions eased. I was able to go over and see him back in Marmaris, and he travelled on a bus for 17 hours from his family’s village to meet me. And that’s when he proposed. I’d like to say it was a surprise, but it wasn’t!

We were staying in an apartment and he was in the toilet with his phone earlier that day, using Google translate, and I heard it saying, 'Will you marry me?' I messaged my local friend straight away and said, 'Oh my God, I think Yunus is going to propose.' I was so excited but also a little nervous – it was happening so fast and I worried what other people would think, but I also had no hesitation that I was going to say yes because it just felt right.

I rushed out with my friend to buy a new dress because I hadn’t packed anything nice enough for such a big moment. He also asked for my ring back, saying he was going to get it resized, and I said, "Why? It fits" but I thought I’d better stop winding him up and give it to him.

That night we went for dinner and he was drinking a lot of raki and acting a bit funny because he was so nervous. Then our favourite Turkish song started playing and Yunus asked me to marry him, giving me the ring back, this time in a box! It was the beginning of the rest of our lives, and it felt amazing.

The big day

I sent the engagement video to my mum and she was very relaxed about it. She just said, "Well, congratulations. I'll let your dad know." I told them we were getting married in October and she said, "You mean next year?" And I was like, "No, in two months!"

I had to come back to the UK again to work before the wedding and would video call with Mum, Dad and Yunus at the same time, so they got to know him and, in October, I flew back for the wedding.

I got my hair and make-up done and we got ready together at the hotel, it was all very relaxed. We got a taxi with my best friend, her husband and son, went to a baker to get a cake, went to a florist to get some flowers and then drove to the restaurant where Yunus had decorated an arch for us to get married under.

The celebrant was late so we went to do pictures with the photographer first, so everything was back to front. And then we had a quick ceremony before a meal with my friend, the photographer, three of Yunus’s friends, and the taxi driver, who was also a friend.

Planning for the future

Then, I had to leave again. That was the worst time because now I was leaving my husband. I ordered a large glass of wine and cried a lot in the airport. We started talking about our future together and planned for him to come to the UK because of my work. But as it happened, my dad had been made redundant, and my parents decided to sell their house and move to Turkey themselves, to Fethiye. It all happened so fast, they had an offer on their house within a week, and by December, they were on a flight.

Suddenly I had my parents and my husband in Turkey, while I was stuck in the UK, so we decided to give Turkey a try. Giving up my job was the hardest part, as I’d been there for 11 years, but my boss left just before me, and I felt like, 'This is it, this is a sign.'

A new life

By April 2021, I’d packed my life into two suitcases and was on the plane. I was really excited, but I don’t think it sunk in that I was actually going to live in Turkey – even now, three years later, it can feel a bit surreal.

We had to quarantine for 10 days so we were locked in the house at first. I didn’t feel very well, but I couldn’t quite put my finger on why, and then my period was late. I did a test and it was the biggest shock of my life. Yunus’s reaction was, "It's impossible." And I was like, "What do you mean? It's really not!" It was quite comical.

It was all such a whirlwind. Our son Atlas was born in January 2022 and we moved into our own apartment, 10 minutes from the seafront and harbour. From my balcony, I can see the Babadag mountain, which is one of the most famous paragliding spots in the world, and close by is the blue lagoon of Ölüdeniz. It’s absolutely stunning.

Yunus works in a five-star hotel here, and I have applied for citizenship, so when that comes through, I will be allowed to work too. I’ve made more friends and we have lovely neighbours. We spend a lot of time outdoors, on the beach, going for walks or out for brunch and watching the sunset, and it’s even beautiful in the winter.

Culture shock

Where we live is very cosmopolitan, there are a lot of other English people, as well as Russian and Ukrainians. But Yunus’s family are village people, and that was a culture shock at first. When I first met them I was pregnant – it was July and really hot. I was already agitated and we had some massive barneys because the men and women don't do anything together, so I was left at home with his sisters-in-law.

It's a man's world in the villages. Women stay at home to cook, clean and look after the children. They also didn't realise I could understand Turkish and would ask, "Where is the yabanci?" all the time, which is the word for 'foreigners'. Now though, we understand each other’s cultures more, and I get along great with all the family.

There are things I miss about home, like food. I miss the variety. When my friends come over, they bring me packets of spice mixes that we can’t get here, and sometimes I just want a shepherd’s pie or a Greggs sausage roll.

Inflation is crazy here too, so the cost of food is high if you’re paid in Turkish lira. It’s hard for us to survive on one seasonal wage.

Yet ever moving to the UK together isn’t going to be an option now because of the visa rules – from this month, the sponsor (myself) has to earn £29,000 as a minimum income requirement and, from next year, the government is increasing it to over £38,000. It’s impossible, plus the visa costs £5,000 itself and my husband would have to stay in Turkey while I proved my earnings for six months in a new job – but we have a son – is he supposed to not see him for six months? It’s outrageous.

Luckily, we are happy here. I love the fact that I could walk home from the beach at 2am and feel totally safe. The people are so friendly and it’s a relaxed way of living. The quality of life is 100% better – as are those beautiful sunsets I get to watch every single day. Marrying Yunus has proved to be the best decision I ever made.

Read more:

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My husband is 30 years older than me and he's been mistaken for my dad (7-min read, Yahoo)